First- I'd like to start with the fact that there are a few great and caring people that work here, but I was very disappointed with how my child was treated.
My child is 3-years-old and never had any problem until a certain teacher taught her when she went up one class.
She was in a class with a teacher who has been there for quite a while. My daughter had an issue with her specifically when she was in a younger class, but I thought it was just because she was strict.
Now almost two years later, my child would come home and tell me stories of her day. Stories would include how the teacher was mean and yelled at her, or she didn't get to eat lunch because she couldn't set up her nap spot alone.
Something today spoke to me and told me to log on and watch her in her class (they have cameras in each room).
I logged on when the teachers were setting up for lunch and the kids were setting up for their nap.
My daughter is 3-years-old in a class of almost 5-year-olds, so it's understandable that she would need more help than others.
I watched as my child sat quietly next to her nap mat that was folded in half because she was unable to get her fitted crib sheet over the mat by herself.
I then watched a teacher fix one of the nap mats herself by putting a child's fitted sheet on the mat.
My daughter even stood up, approached the teacher and pointed toward her mat as if she were asking for help.
She was shrugged off.
I watched painfully for 25 minutes as much child sat pathetically unable to do it alone.
The other children were having lunch.
My daughter could not eat lunch until she fixed her nap spot.
I am a logical and understanding person, but this is no way to treat a child and not allowing them to have lunch is UNETHICAL.
After watching for long enough, I stormed out of work and went to pick up my child.
I confronted the director, who was very understanding and apologized for the situation, but I will not return my daughter to a place where she feels bullied and is punished for being a toddler.
Irate, livid and inconsolable are a few words to describe how I am feeling right now as a mother.
As I said, I know there are great people who work at Stepping Stones-- because my daughter had them as teachers and has told me nice stories about them, but I will never return or refer anyone to enroll their child there and feel the way I do now.
I urge the staff and owners to look into the teaching methods used and how the children are being treated on a daily basis.
And I hope no parents or their children ever have to experience this or feel the way we do right now.
I have videos and photos of the event from the online webcam system and I do plan on proceeding further to make sure this does not happen to anyone else's child. read more